The best alternative to Microsoft Project Online
And what added value it brings to your organization.
It’s official: Microsoft Project Online (the cloud version of Project Web App) is ending. In a Tech Community post, Microsoft explains that Project Online will be discontinued as of Sept. 30, 2026. In fact, for recent customers, some services have already been discontinued.
For organizations that have Project Online deeply woven into their PPM landscape (projects, resources, timesheets, governance and reporting), this is not a cosmetic change. It means: making choices now about your future toolstack, migration path and – equally important – your way of managing change.
Choosing wisely
This is therefore an excellent time to look beyond a “replacement” for Project Online. Many organizations working with the regular Microsoft Project license (Desktop) have been running into structural limitations for some time: it is heavily focused on individual planners, collaboration is cumbersome, portfolio overview is lacking or requires a lot of manual work, and reporting is often dependent on exports to Excel or loose Power BI constructs. Governance, decision-making, and strategic coherence are not natural parts of the tool. By exploring alternatives now, the opportunity arises to turn these disadvantages into advantages: one shared platform, real-time insight at portfolio level, better support for decision-making, and a solution that not only facilitates planning, but also makes change actually manageable.
Fortes Change Cloud as a logical alternative
If you are not just looking for “project planning,” but more importantly want to manage end-to-end change, Fortes Change Cloud is the ideal alternative. Fortes Change Cloud supports the full cycle of strategic portfolio management: from strategy, portfolio management, program and project management, to project execution, reporting, analysis, and adjustment. For good reason, this article calls Fortes Change Cloud the No. 1 portfolio management solution of 2026.
For the former Project Online user, the following features of Fortes Change Cloud will be especially enriching:
- PPM in one integrated environment: project, program, and portfolio management together, so you don’t have to “stick” with separate tools and exports as much.
- Governance-ready: connection to common best-practices (such as MSP/MoP/MoR/P3O).
- Hybrid working in every sense. Fortes Change Cloud is suitable for teams working remotely or in different locations. It was developed from the assumption that institutions also want to collaborate across organizations within the chain, while the need for governance remains unchanged. This allows for traditional waterfall-oriented work, SAFe, or a combination of methodologies.
- Managing progress, costs, and risks: Fortes Change Cloud is a platform to manage both progress and control in an integrated way. From different perspectives, such as human capacity, costs, results on strategic goals, or risks, the entire portfolio can be managed. Using scenario planning, you can assess alternatives in their full impact, enabling you to make informed decisions from a complete picture. All this can scale from smaller teams to large Enterprise volumes.
Where Project Online offered planning and administration, Change Cloud is designed precisely to make strategic change manageable, with a single truth for portfolio visibility, decision-making, status, risk, and resources.
What you can do right now
With the end date approaching, it is wise not to wait for “migration panic.”
A sensible approach is:
- Take inventory of which Project Online components you use and what other applications are used to manage the portfolio. Consider Excel reports, external goal-setting tools, and financial tools for budget management.
- Schedule a personal meeting where we’ll walk you through the capabilities of Fortes Change Cloud. We’ll also work with you to see what a sensible approach is for your organization’s migration.
Schedule your appointment yourself
Use the button below to schedule an online demo at your convenience directly in our consultant’s calendar. During the online demo, we will address your challenges and needs and show you how Fortes Change Cloud meets them.
